Inside the Phillies with MLB.com beat writer Todd Zolecki

Oswalt Is Back

Roy Oswalt rejoined the Phillies today after spending more than a week with his family in Mississippi.

Tornadoes tore through his home county. His home and the home of his in-laws suffered some damage, but his family is OK. His three children were in their grandparents’ home when the storms hit, which shook them up.

I’ll have more later on the experience, but here’s the baseball stuff:

Oswalt threw a bullpen session this afternoon at Citizens Bank Park. He said it went well, although the Phillies said they have not decided if he will pitch Saturday. Rich Dubee said they must see how he feels tomorrow. Oswalt did not throw while he was home, and Dubee said Oswalt was a little rusty as a result.

If I’m a betting man I’m betting Chase Utley is in Clearwater, Fla., before the end of the weekend. He responded well to two simulated games earlier this week. The Phillies have said they have not made any decisions about his next step, but an appearance in extended spring training is the logical choice. “I would assume it would be a slow progression,” Ruben Amaro Jr. said. That means starting with extended spring training before beginning a rehab assignment.

Carlos Ruiz took swings in the batting cage the past couple days, but is resting his back today. He suffered a bit of a setback. “He was progressing real well, then he kind of tweaked himself a little bit,” Amaro said. Ruiz has not played since April 27. The Phillies can back date his DL stint 10 days, so they have until Saturday to do that. “Not yet,” said Amaro, asked if he feels like they need to place Ruiz on the DL.

Don’t expect Vance Worley to stick around once Joe Blanton rejoins the rotation. Amaro said Worley has more value keeping stretched out as a starter in Triple-A.

Jose Contreras remains on schedule to return in three to four weeks. He’s been on the DL since April 22.

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11 Comments

As a Phillie’s fan from the UK, just want to say a big thanks for your blogs and the way that the Phillie’s news is put online. Being able to access everything baseball online is a godsend! Hope big Roy can do his stuff tonight and little Roy is back for Saturday!

And if I’m a betting man, I’d say that Oswalt won’t be back in 2012. [Read Ashley Fox’s column in the Inquirer today] His priorities are clearly elsewhere, and he was already talking about retirement before the Phils acquired him.
All you Vance Worley fans had better hope he’s the real deal.

I agree about Oswalt, especially if they are able to win a WS. That would really make it easier to walk away, although I don’t know how it’s easy to walk away from another 16MM. And as far as Worley is concerned? Better him than Kendrick, muleman. And I have two sleepers for spring training in 2012. Josh Zeid and JC Ramirez.

I recall some discussion surrounding the acquisition of Oswalt about his contract option for 2012 something to the effect would Oswalt ask for a guarantee that the Phillies would not exercise the 2012 option or otherwise use it as a wedge. It appeared to have become a moot point when Oswalt explained it wasn’t an issue with him since was contemplating retiring after 2011 anyway. What a contrast with the circus surrounding the resigning of Jeter. It boggles my mind even trying to get a grasp of someone walking away from so much money. It boggled my mind when Rod Carew retired. The way I remember it was that Carew wanted around $900,000 while the Angels offered him somewhere between $700,000 and $800,000. Carew retired and walked away from at least $700,000. Imagine that.

This is from Ashley Fox’s column today:
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Oswalt plays the game and enjoys the game, but he loves his high-school sweetheart Nicole and their three little girls: Arlee Faith, 6; Ainslee Grace, 3; and Aubree, 6 months. He adores his parents, Billy and Jean, and still lives in his tiny hometown of Weir, Miss.
General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. could have balked at Oswalt’s request for a leave of absence from the Phillies, and it would not have mattered. Knowing Oswalt, he would have left anyway, and maybe never come back. He is that kind of guy; he has all the money he needs to own hundreds of acres in Mississippi and live on them the rest of his life, comfortably, with his family.
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I think that’s how you “walk away” from $16 million. It’s funny how some fans booed Jayson Werth because he took the money and ran. Perhaps some of those same fans wouldn’t understand how a guy could leave a lucrative baseball career for the love of his life and his family.
Some fans complain that players have lost perspective. Perhaps it’s the fans who need to develop some.

I think it should be stated that Roy loves to play baseball too. It’s just that baseball is interfering with his being with and watching his little girls grow up. If he would be willing to move his family to Philly, it wouldn’t be an issue. But since he won’t, he has to be separated from his family for most of the 8+ months of the baseball season (Feb~Oct); it tears him apart.

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